The Day That PK Love Came To Play
by HtfLover
Summary: I'm not good with names. I'm not good with summaries. I'm not good with a lot of things. However, when a boy from a game I enjoy quite a bit shows up in my reality, I need to get good. Rated the way it is because I don't know what to expect. Story icon by PopsicleCream795.
1. Chapter 1

**The Day That PK Love Came To Play**

 _c_ _hapter 1_

The last day of school was a middling one. The final test was stressful, and in the end, i only got a C. My friends said that they got similar results. When it was all said and done, when i got home I was completely drained. I flopped down on my bed and grabbed my plush of Ness from Earthbound and brought it close to my chest.

I had become a Mother fan about 3 months prior. I had played both Earthbound and Beginnings to completion. I had asked Mom for a Ness plush for my birthday. That's as far as it went in the real world, but in my head, the characters and the world of the series had seemed to become a facet of me. When I saw the reassuring smile on the face of the Ness plush, it made me feel a little better about the day I had just went through. Does that sound crazy?

Now, don't think I'm depressed, cos I'm not. It's just that, with school, my parent's relationship worsening, and recently moving to a new home, a LOT of stuff was happening in a very short amount of time. I spent most of my day napping. When I woke up, it was 3 in the morning.

 _Crap!_ I thought, _I missed dinner!_

Well, at least I can go back to sleep with no regrets. Maybe in my dreams, I could go to my very own Magicant! And who knows what the first day of summer would bring. Before I went back to sleep, I said a little prayer. I prayed for things in my life to get better and for my summer to be a safe and enjoyable one. _Amen._ As I held onto my Ness plush, I drifted off into a slumber.

oOoOoOo

When I woke up at around 8 am, the thought immediately came to me. How was I gunna spend my first day of summer? I had the house to myself, as my dad was at work and my mom was out with her sister. I was free, like a bird on the wind. I was about to get up when, from the right side of my bed, I heard a voice.

 _"No... why? Oohh... no.."_

 _Huh?_ _I don't share my room with anyone. Am I hearing things or is someone in my room?_

I looked over the right side of my bed, and I couldn't believe what I saw. A blond-haired boy, his hair in a quiff, with a red and yellow striped shirt, blue jean shorts, and red and yellow shoes which matched his shirt.

"Lucas!"

I tried not to yell. He was asleep, and from the looks of it, he was having some SERIOUS nightmares. From the things he was muttering, and from the golden lightning emblem on his shirt, I knew exactly what he was dreaming of. If I had to describe what he looked like any further, I'd say it looked like someone took Lucas's model from Smash Bros Ultimate and dropped it my bedroom. Getting off topic, sorry.

I said I had played both Earthbound and Beginnings, but not Mother 3. Well, I could easily play the Tomato ROM online, but I don't wanna get depressed. I've seen Chugga's Let's Play and I can say, it's objectively an amazing game, but it's sad as heck! Well, if I shed tears just watching it, imagine how the kid sleeping in front of me is feeling having LIVED it. Man, poor kid.

Anyway, I had to proceed with tact, something I don't really have, being 12. If I'm not mistaking, that's how old Lucas is. Interesting. I decided to carry him into the living room. I'm not sure why myself, it just felt right. While carrying him, I noticed his size. The top of his hair reached about to the bottom of my ribcage. I layed him in the middle of the couch, layed a blanket over him, and placed a pillow under his head. I wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as I could make him.

As I let him sleep, I made myself some breakfast, some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I could only imagine what was going through Lucas's head. He'd been through so much, and I pitied him. And since he was suddenly in my world, I suppose he's my responsibility. I mean, it's almost like I suddenly have a... brother. Oh, yeah, that. How would I deal with that when he woke up? He lost everything he loved and now he was thrust into a seperate plane of existence from his own.

Well, before I had a chance to think of what to do, his eyes started opening. As he started to regain consciousness, I sat myself on the edge of the couch. After his eyes were open, and he started taking in his new surroundings, he spoke.

"W-Where am I? What is this place? Is this the world the Dragon made?"

...what do I say? No, seriously. If you were in my situation, what would you say? Anyway, I decided to keep it simple, and say a greeting.

"Hello. My name is Cassidy."

"...Lucas. It's... nice to meet you. ...where am I?"

"I don't know how to explain, honestly. I just call it 'Life'"

"I'm sorry, do you know me?"

"...more than you know."

I had a lot of explaining to do.

oOoOoOo

 **Please follow and favorite and review! I had this idea bubbling in my head, and I hope you enjoy. I hope this fanfic will be fun!** **-Garrett**


	2. Chapter 2

_I own nothing. Mother/Earthbound is owned by Shigesato Itoi and Nintendo._

 **The Day That PK Love Came To Play**

 _Chapter 2_

Explaining the situation to Lucas was an absolute nightmare. Throughout much of my monologue, he was panicking, breathing deep and fast. I explained how I know about him, his game, how i found him, and generally tried to not sound insane. I asked him not to think of himself as coming from a game (partially because I didn't know if he was familiar with what that was), but rather that he is from a seperate reality and, somehow, he was yanked out of his world and plopped down in mine.

After a long, awkward silence following my explaination, he asked to be excused to be alone with his thoughts. He then got up and walked into the guest bathroom (don't know why he chose THAT room, honestly) and closed the door behind him. Even from the living room, I could hear him muttering to himself. I wondered what he was talking about, and was worried if he was gunna be alright. After around five minutes, he went silent. I got up, knocked on the door, and started talking to Lucas from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Hello, Lucas? A-Are you OK in there?"

"Y-Yes... I'm fine, I suppose."

"Sigghhh, I know. It must be a lot to take in."

"Everything I've went through... Mom, Claus, the destruction of everything I've loved... was it even real?"

"Of course it was real! If it wasn't, how would I be talking to you? Just because you're from a 'game' it doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"So, it's like I'm from another world?"

"Basically, yeah."

"So... do you think I'll ever get back?"

"...I don't know. I'm honestly as clueless as you are. Honestly, I just know your situation from when you were 8 up until when you pulled the final needle. Why you're here specifically, and why I'm... basically a caretaker is beyond me."

"Caretaker? What do you mean"

"Well, you appeared in my house, and I don't think you have anywhere you can go, and I don't think you can buy a home for a while, so... I guess you'll be living with me and my family? I don't know how I'm gunna explain this situation to them, but we won't have to worry about that until 5, at least!"

"Parents? Where are your parents?"

"Dad is at work and Mom is out with her sister. We've got the house all to ourselves until they get back!"

Lucas fell silent.

"Painful memories?"

"Mhm..."

"Wanna come out?"

"...Ok."

After a short pause, he opened the door and walked out. His eyes (which, naturally, were black ovals, like in his game) were looking down, his hands in his pockets, and he looked very... I don't know how to describe it. Conflicted? Troubled? Is that the word I'm looking for? He looked up to me, smiled lightly, and stretched out his arms. I knew exactly what he was trying to initiate.

I knelt down, so I was at eye-level with him. I gave him a reassuring look, and gave him a hug. Now normally, I assume, hugging a person you've just met probably isn't the best idea. However, 1: Lucas and I are both the same age, so... that has to count for something, right? And 2: Lucas has been through more rough patches in a few years than most people go through in their entire lives, so at this point, I think he needs a little bit of comfort from someone who knows what he's been through.

After we broke off the hug, I decided to go back to eating my cereal. Lucas sat down next to me, and looked at what I was eating. "What is that?" he asked. "Cinnamon Toast Crunch," I said, slightly muffled due my mouth being full of cereal. "It's pretty good!" After I said that, he grabbed a piece (is that the right word? I'm bad at word-using) of CTC and put it in his mouth. He nodded with a thumbs up. However, he didn't seem all too hungry, as he walked off after that.

He sat on the couch, and noticed the large, solid black screen attached to the wall. Despite not looking much like the things he was thinking of, he asked "Is that... a happy box?" "Well, we call it a 'TV,' but, yes, it is," I replied. He looked... how do I even describe it? He looked completely emotionless, and yet somehow filled with every emotion known to man. So many awful memories were connected, not to the happy boxes themselves necessarily, but to the people who sold them. The monsters who led to the death of his mother, the corruption and eventual death of his brother, and the destruction of all he knew and love. I could tell just from his facial expression that he was conflicted. He was sent to this world all on his own, everything he knew either gone or lost in another plane of existence, and it seemed nice, a fresh start even, and yet it had a device brought in by the ones who ruined his life in it. Is this new world really as good as it initially seemed, or is it gunna be a repeat of the pain he felt again?

...Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. It was just a blank face after all. Am I just being paranoid? Am I misusing the word 'paranoid?' I really don't think I'm adequate to take care of Lucas, but sometimes you just gotta take the cards life deals you.

"Maybe this room isn't the best place to be right now. Wanna go outside? It's pretty nice." He smiled a little. Maybe what he needed was some sunlight on his skin and fresh air in his lungs. He got up and, before I even told him where the backdoor was, he made a beeline for the thing and leaped outside on the grass. I went outside, and I saw he was looking out at the distance. Beyond the suburbs where my home was, there was a lake. Next to the lake was a field. The field was filled with lush, green grass, several species of flowers, and a large hickory tree in the middle. It was truly a sight to behold! Lucas seemed to think so! He seemed awestruck at this new world he found himself into. It was peaceful, with no real danger he could sense, and if there was, he had PSI he could protect himself with. He seemed truly excited for what this world had in store for him, and I guess I'm the one who's gunna lead him through it.

God help me.

oOoOoOoOo

 **Kind of a random place to leave things, but it's getting a little long. Please follow, favorite and review this story for more chapters! What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? What can be improved? What kind of stuff do you think could happen? Please let me know. It's my first time really writing a fanfiction like this, so I hope it's up to snuff! I hope it's not garbage! We'll see I guess! See you next chapter!**

 **-Garrett!**


	3. Chapter 3

_I own nothing. Mother/Earthbound are owned by Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi._

We had a nice time in the field. After Lucas saw the field on the outskirts of my town, he just had to run off towards it. I brought some watermelon slices from the fridge. Not a big fan of watermelon myself, but nothing would be better to bring with us to a sunny field. Lucas just had the biggest, goofiest smile on his face as he saw the flowers and the lake, with a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step, that I hadn't seen from him before. I honestly thought that he'd be pretty mopey for a while but, I guess maybe all he needed to brighten him up was a little reminder of the beauty of the earth. Wait, am I wording that right? Am I even interpretting this right?

Anywho, Lucas seemed to pick a specimen of each flower he came across. Dandelions, roses, lilies, chrysanthemums, poppies, none were safe from his PSI-laden grip. With each flower he picked up, he threw them and sent them into the air with hexagonal PSI. That is until, after about 40 minutes of this, he came across a sunflower, about his height, underneath the hickory tree in the center of the field, with reddish-orange petals, of which the petals on the top were larger and longer than the ones on the bottom and sides. I saw him stare into the head, with a vacant stare like a deer stares into headlights, no, that's too cliché, what should I say? It doesn't matter how I word it, the point is he was lifelessly staring into the flower.

I walked up to him, and tried to say something. When I tried, however, he shoved a finger in my face, as if telling me to zip it. It was a little uncalled for, but I didn't have the heart to tell him off. After a couple minutes of him just staring at the flower, he kneeled down to the flower's base and ripped it from the ground. I swear I heard a loud ripping noise.

"Lucas! What the-"

Before I could even think of finishing my sentence, he turned around to look me in the eyes, holding the base of the flower in one hand and the neck (I think that's what it's called) in the other, glaring daggers, no, scimitars, into my soul... for about 3 seconds. After that, he took a sharp breath, walked towards me, and said, "I-I'm sorry, Cassidy. I don't know what came over me."

"I think the sunflower is bringing up some painful memories."

He looked toward the sunflower again, and sighed. He walked toward the lake, layed the flower down on the water, and pushed it off into the distant waters. He then, he fell to his knees and quietly said to himself "I... I miss you..."

After seeing this, two opposing, yet equally prevalent thoughts flowed through my head: 1) _'This poor kid. So many awful memories, and so much pain being inflicted on his psyche. I have to make sure he's happy, if not for him but for the memory of those he's lost. They wouldn't want to see him so miserable would they?'_ 2) _'Jesus! It's like every other thing he comes across is setting him off. It's like his emotions are on a constant roulette wheel, and anything can bring up his memories. And knowing what this kid is capable of, one of these episodes could probably result in a massive PSI outburst and kill something.'_ The fact that I thought that second one scared me a bit, but I had to act, so I couldn't focus on that for too long.

I walked up to the kid, and handed him a small slice of watermelon. He looked down at it in his hands, and took a small bite. He looked up at me with juice running down his cheek, and suddenly, with no warning, he started sobbing and booking it back to the house. "LUCAS! WAIT!" _"Man, that kid is fast."_ Before I followed the psychic boy back to the house, I turned towards the lake, the orange-petalled sunflower floating into the distance on the waters. I looked upwards, to the sky, and spoke silently to myself: "Dear Lord up in heaven, give me strength. I wish to keep this boy happy. He's been through too much awful stuff in his life to deny him the happiness he deserves, so Lord, give me the wisdom and strength to care for this boy, with Mom and Dad by my side. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen."

oOoOoOoOo

When I got back to the house, I noticed the time on the microwave clock read 9:23. The room to my door was opened, so Lucas was most likely in there. I may as well take this time to describe the contents of my room, because why not, right? My bed, a twin size, lays in the center, pushed up towards the back wall. Next to that, a window, and a desk with my drawing supplies. A spinning office chair lay next to the desk, against the left-hand wall. A box of vinyl records, of which I am a collector of, lay snugly in the corner where the left-hand wall meets the front wall. A shelf, laden with books, a TV, a record player, a white Wii U, and a piggy bank takes up most of the front wall, and on the right-hand wall, a large closet with my clothes and other miscellanious junk, ending off with my door. I hope I didn't mess up that description. I'm awful at describing. Heh!

Lucas was sitting on the spinning office chair, slowly spinning in a clockwise motion, and his face was in a solemn boketto (Don't ask me how I know that word. I spend way too much time online sometimes). I saw that there were a few loose pieces of notebook paper on my desk, with markers and pencils thrown haphazardly on it. I don't know how he knew where that was, or why he got into it, or if he even knew what a marker was (I think he knew what a pencil and paper was), but I was too worried about his state to care. The thing that immediately caught my eye was that the Franklin badge, which up until now was still attached to his shirt, was now laying on my desk, and on it, in scratchy writing, and in red marker, was the word 'Accursed' written across the lightning bolt on the badge. After a sharp sigh of sympathy, a picked up one of the papers. There was a drawing on it. It was a pretty good drawing. I wanted to compliment Lucas on his artistic abilities, but before I could I started to examine what the drawing actually was.

The paper featured a drawing of a little boy in a striped shirt and hair ending in a quiff. There was a boy next to him, the same height as him, also wearing a striped shirt and hair quiffing in the opposite direction, holding his hand. They looked very happy. In the background, there was a man in a cowboy hat and a beard sitting in a chair on the porch of a house on a hill. A dog was sitting on his lap. Also on the porch was a long-haired woman in a dress holding a sunflower. There were also a few simple houses in the background, a few trees here and there, and the sun was smiling. Above all of this, in the same scratchy writing as on the Franklin badge, were the words 'The Way Things Should Be.' In the corner, was the name 'Lucas.'

The boy wanted to go back to a world that no longer was so badly. Could I even help him feel better. I still don't know the answer now. Seriously, I am the LEAST qualified person in the WORLD for this job. But, if I have this job, I might as well try my best. I do care about this boy a lot. I cared about him while watching Chugga's let's play of Mother 3, and I cared even more about him when he appeared next to my bed. Am I rambling again? Jeez, I really have to work on staying on topic.

I drew the boy sitting on the office chair into an embrace and told him, "You need to stop worrying. I know what you've been through was awful, and if I could I'd punch Porky in his stupid, senile face, but nothing can change what's happened. Me and my family will do everything we can to make you feel happy and loved, but you've gotta want to feel better. Can you do that, if not for yourself, but for those you've lost. Would Hinawa and Claus want to see you be this miserable pile of spinning emotions?"

"Ok, I'll try."

oOoOoOoOo

 **Thank you for reading my latest chapter! How was it? Follow, Favorite, and Review! Also, is this "unconfident narrator" approach working? Anything that can be improved? Please let me know! I really appreciate you guys! Also, special thanks to 1rk3n, PkSmashBros, and Ian R. Moros for the feedback! I hope my next chapter is good! See ya next time!**

 **-garrett**


	4. Chapter 4

_I own nothing. Mother/Earthbound are property of Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi_

 _The Day That PK Love Came To Play_

 _chapter 4_

"OH, CRAP!"

"Hmm? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Luke, I just remembered that I forgot to brush my teeth. My mom threw I fit last time I forgot."

"Sigh... I remember one time, I forgot to make my bed, and Mom gave me some weird looks, but after that, she just laughed it off and made some omelets... "

I pull him into a tighter embrace, I didn't want him to feel worse.

"I'll be back in around 2 minutes or so. Go ahead and rummage through my stuff if you want."

With that, I exited my room and left for the bathroom. I got my toothbrush, and as a started brushing my teeth, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I saw the Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon T-Shirt I wore to bed the previous night. I saw the light acne on my forehead that my mom bought me cream for. More than anything, I saw the feature of my appearance that led to many playful nicknames by my friends: my hair. Sure, mom says that the way my hair looks is completely normal, but I don't see how light grey hair is natural for a 12-year-old. I've learned to live with it, and even love it in a sense, but it still get some weird looks from random people on the street.

Before I returned to my room, I decided to comb my hair. When I was done, the combination of the color of my hair and the style of the hair made me look a little bit like Loid from Beginnings, sans glasses. When I entered my room again, I saw the boy on his knees, looking through my box of vinyl records.

I'm a big classic rock fan, thanks to my dad, and ever since I got a large box of records from my aunt, I've been a collector. Yeah, a 12-year-old vinyl collector. Yeah, people say I have good tastes, not to brag. Heh heh heh.

Anyway, he looked to me, with a look in his black oval eyes that said "What are these?"

"Oh, you've found my record collection!"

"Record?"

I might be misremembering something, but didn't Lucas come across vinyl somewhere on his adventure? Oh, wait, that was Ness. Man, I suck at this.

"Well, basically, it's music on a piece of plastic."

"There's music on these? But, I don't hear anything"

"Well, how it works is that, you see that grey thing on that shelf next to you?"

"That thing? I was thinking that thing was gunna use PK Thunder on me if I turned my back on it."

"Pfft no! That's a record player. You take a record out of its sleeve, place it on the black thing, take the red stick thing and place it on the outer edge, and it plays whatever music has been recorded on it! Once the music is over, take the record and flip it over, and it'll play more! In that box, there is music from people all over the world!"

"...world?"

"Oh... right, that! Kinda neglected to mention that. I kinda suck. You see, in this reality, the world isn't destroyed, and humanity did not need to move to a series of islands. There are thousands and thousands of miles of land and billions of people of all shapes and sizes."

Oh boy, did his face light up! I saw little twinkles in those black specks of eyes and his mouth was agape, and he nearly dropped the record he was holding. He may or may not have been able to save his world, but he WAS taken to a world that was already safe and full of more life than he ever knew. I guess that might have made him feel a little better about his situation. Although I don't think he'll ever truly recover from the trauma he's gone through. But, I will never know how he's feeling, because unlike him, I'm not telepathic, so I shouldn't make any assumptions. Pfft. Dumb ol' Cassidy Clearwater!

"...I wanna hear the music of the world!"

"Well, why don't we start with the record you're holding!"

I took the record from his hands and-

"Wait! Before we do, I need to ask."

"Yes, Luke?"

"Why do I feel like I've seen the toy on your bed before?"

"Oh! That's my plush of a boy named Ness!"

"Ness?"

"He's a boy from your reality, albiet several centuries before you were ever born. He's a young boy from the town of Onett, who is blessed with psychic powers!"

"L-Like me?"

"Yes kinda like you," I say as I ruffle his hair. Don't know why I did that, it just felt right. "Anyway, he went on an adventure to save the world from an evil force named Giygas, with 2 other boys and a girl! You saw little snapshots of his adventure in a theatre in New Pork City, because Porky is from Ness's time, although then he was known as Pokey."

"...What was he like?"

"Well, he started off as a snarky next-door neighbor and proclaimed himself as Ness's best friend, but as the adventure progressed he became more and more of a jerk, until eventually he turned over to the side of Giygas, before vanishing through time to, quote, 'Think of [his] next plan.'"

"So, he was corrupted, and he was the one who... juh! AUUUGGGHHH-"

"Shh-shhh-hhh," I pulled him closer, "Lucas please, let's get your mind on something else. I don't wanna see you destroy yourself."

"I don't know how! The only thing that kept me sane during the hardest parts of my life were my dad, who after mom died was almost never home and now I'll probably never see him again, and using my PSI and trusty stick on everything that was attacking me! And now that's all gone!"

I saw his little black eyes tearing up, and I didn't want him to cry, so I told him what I liked to do to cheer myself up. I knew that we were two completely different people, and what works for me might not work for him but, hey, I didn't know what else to do.

"Well, when I'm feeling a bit down, I like to listen to my records! The one you were holding is a personal favorite of mine! I also enjoy drawing, and you are quite an artist yourself!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! That 'Way Things Should Be' drawing was really good; I can tell you poured your heart into it!"

"Th-Thanks, Cassidy. Y-Yeah, ok, I'd like to listen to music!"

I took a look at the record he chose, whose cover featured a sight I knew Lucas wanted to see badly: a man with a beard and a woman with long hair and a dress. I slid the record out of its sleeve, and handed it to Lucas, who looked at it with a curious look.

"Now, Lucas, these are the record's grooves," I said pointing at the grooves. "And these little spaces inbetween are the spaces between the songs! Pretty neat, huh?" He nodded. Without thinking much of it, I placed the record on the turntable, and placed the needle in the space between tracks one and two.

As the music started, I saw Lucas bobbing his head to the beat. The drums were a hypnotic riff and the guitar was washy (I have no other words for this sound) and eventually, a sweet-sounding female vocal started singing. Lucas seemed to be enjoying himself, as he was smiling and bobbing to the rhythm. Then, as if the singer was reaching into Lucas's mind, and purposefully trying to make him sad, she started singing about "the sound of your loneliness, like a heartbeat drives you mad in the stillness of remembering what you had, and what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost."

Yeah, an album filled with songs about loss and change probably wasn't the best thing to play for him. Go ahead, slap me! I deserve it for sucking this hard.

By the time the chorus came along (one which talked about thunder, which was a thing that had affected him at multiple points in his life), his smile had faded. His head was still bobbing to the beat of the drums, but he seemed to be listening harder to what she was saying, and remembering all that he'd been through. When the verse about visions and dreams came around, I could tell that he was remembering the incidents at Tanetane Island. I... don't know how I could tell simply by looking at him, because I'm not psychic, weird. The chorus came along again, and Lucas got up and went to my desk. Knocking the excess paper and the defaced Franklin badge off of the table and onto the carpet, he grabbed a pencil and quickly drew up a piece of 'vent art,' I guess you could call it.

The song came to an end, and I removed the needle to stop the record in its tracks. "Yeah, maybe Rumours wasn't the best thing to play. Probably shoulda gone with A Hard Day's Ni-" I was interrupted by Lucas shoving a paper into my hands. I stared into his eyes, which despite their monochromatic nature, were full of visible emotion. The drawing he made being very quickly made, it was of similar quality to his previous drawing. It featured a towering... tower, with a large circular top, shooting a stream of electricity at a small wooden house on a day clear of clouds. A graveyard was visible not to far off from the house, and it was in the shadow of the tower, and seemed to be in a state of disrepair, except for a tombstone on the edge of the cliff, which was clearly well maintained, and had a large sunflower growing from in front of it with a shadowy figure sitting on the flower, looking upon the scene unfolding before them. Despite how small that part of the drawing was, I could tell the person was sad.

Overtop this scene, done lightly and with a sharper pencil, was a halfway transparent figure in a helmet/mask looking thing. Tears were streaming down the side of his face, and he was holding a sword with electricity surrounding it. There was a burnt patch in the uniform he was wearing, right over his heart. Overtop the entire drawing and its layers, was the words "Thunder Only Happens when it's Raining" in red marker and scratchy writing. The name 'Lucas' is scribbled in the corner. It really amazes me how much detail Lucas can cram into a drawing so quickly, and have it work so well!

"You know, Cassidy?" said Lucas, "It felt kind of good to get my emotions onto paper."

"I can tell! You are super talented!"

"Cass, don't exaggerate. It's basically one big scream in the form of a drawing."

"I'm not! You are great at this! All of this sparked from song lyrics!"

"Who was that woman on the record? She must've been psychic as well!"

"Oh, her name is Stevie Ni-"

 _RRIIIIINNNGGGG!!_

"WHAT WAS THAT!? IS THAT A MECHANICAL CHIMARA?!" Lucas was gripping onto my leg.

"My cellphone is ringing. A cellphone is a way to talk to people who are far away."

"Oooohhh!"

Someone was calling me on Google Hangouts. I checked the Caller ID.

"Oh crap!"

"What? Who is it that wants to talk to you?"

"Mother!" Great, now I needed to explain this to Mom! I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this until 5! I was not ready! What was I gunna do?!

oOoOoOoOo

 **Another chapter come and gone! If any of you readers could tell what they were listening to without looking it up and before they really said it, give yourself a pat on the back! Special thank you to PopsicleCream375 for the story's icon! Ain't it great? Thanks also to 1rk3n, Ian R. Moros, and MetroidMan101 for all the support! The next chapter ought to be interesting, so follow, favorite, and review! Thank you all, and stay tuned!** **-garrett**


	5. Chapter 5

_I own nothing. Mother 3/Earthbound are owned by Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi_

 _The Day That PK Love Came to Play_

 _Chapter 5_

Google Hangouts rang a few times. My mother was calling to check on me. I was hoping she wouldn't call for a while, so I would have some time to think of a way to tell her and Dad about the situation, but NOPE! Life is never easy. I know the boy with me knows that firsthand. Welp, can't put this off any longer. I pressed the button to accept the video-call, and a red-haired woman's face appeared on the screen, in Aunt Loreena's house.

"Hi baby!"

"Hi, mom."

"Well, summer vacation is finally here! I hope this will be a good one!"

"Yeah, me too. Oh, mom, something big just hap-"

Before I could drop the news, the camera swivelled to another person in the room.

"HI CASSIDY!"

"Sigghh, hi Aunt Loreena."

"I love you Cassy!"

"I love you too, but listen, I-I need to-"

My mother swivelled into view.

"Now Cassidy, listen, when I get home, I need you to get dressed and get prepared, cos we're gunna invite your sister over for dinner at 6."

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that, whoopsie! I got an older sister named Incendi. She's 21, and moved out of the house when I was 10 and got a job at a local mom-and-pop ice cream parlor called the Pastime Paradise. Her old room is now the guest room. Now that I think about it, rummaging through her retro game collection is probably what got me into Earthbound in the first place. Sorry, rabbit-trailing again.

"Mom, please, I need to-"

"Cassidy, that was rude!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I'm... I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

And here comes the tricky part. "No, it's hard to say, honestly. This might sound completely crazy, but please hear me out, ok?" I saw Mom and Aunt Loreena raise their eyebrows, look at each other for a second, and nod lightly. Ok, at least they are willing to listen. "Ok, so Mom, you know that series of video games I've gotten into as of late?"

"You mean that Motherbound thing?"

"Close enough. Well, this might be the most insane frickin' thing you've ever heard in your entire life, but..." I took a sharp breath before proceeding. "Well, when I woke up a while ago, I heard a voice coming from the floor to the side of my bed. I look over there and, lo and behold, a character from one of the games is laying there unconscious on the floor!"

Silence. They have to think I'm going crazy.

"Um... did you get into your father's medication?"

"No, Mom, I'm 100% serious. A character from that video game series is in this room with me right now! I guess he'll be staying with us."

"Cassidy, did you get enough sleep last night? You might be-"

"Okokokok, I'll just have to show you!"

I turn around to look at the boy behind me, who's just out of view of my phone's camera.

"Lucas, can you come over and speak to my family?"

"What? Wha-What am I supposed to say?"

"Just... just be yourself."

"Oh, o-o-ok. I'll try."

"That's the spirit."

Listening to the short dialogue between me and the unfamiliar voice, I saw the faces of my mom and aunt contort into expressions of confusion. Then, the boy walked over and sat next to me. The collective jaws of my family dropped open seeing this boy, who from his very appearence is clearly not of this universe, walk up and sit next to me like it was nothing. Lucas was noticably nervous having to speak to these two, who are the first two people, apart from me, that he's seen in this world. He was fiddling with his hands, his black eyes were wandering, and he was sweating just a bit. I was just hoping he wasn't having painful memories about his family, because he's been doing that every other second, and it always hurts to see.

"H-hello, Cassidy's... family. My name is L-Lucas."

"...wwwwWWWWWHAT??!?" Mom and Aunt Loreena were in complete, sisterly sync yelling that at the top of their lungs. Mom quickly chimed in with "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!?"

"Well, um, I'm from Tazmily Village on the Nowhere Islands. Sniff. Sorry, I just miss the way things were at home. I don't know how or why I got here, but your son has been treating me well."

Aunt Loreena, her being pretty religious, quickly came to the following conclusion. "It's a miracle from God!"

"Well, Aunt Loreena, I'm not so sure about that, but..."

Mom was still taking all of this in. She had her hands on her head, and was breathing weirdly. Suddenly, she said, "I'm sorry, Lor, I gotta go."

"WHAT!?!" Aunt Loreena and I said simultaneously.

"I need to see this firsthand! This is big, this is important, and I need to see it! Cassidy, I'll be home in an hour. I love you!"

The video call hung up. I turned off my phone and placed in my pocket. "Welp, I guess you're gunna get to meet my mom earlier than I was anticipating."

"...Mom..."

"Sigghhh, I know. Believe me, me and my family will try our darndest to make you feel welcome. Hey, wait a minute, shouldn't you have known what a cell phone was? I recall Fassad using-"

"Gah, Fassad. Forgive me, I almost never listened to a word he said, or payed much attention to much of what he did. He annoyed me so much with his stupid voice and controlling manners, and he helped destroy my home and, GAH!" He took some sharp breaths and held his head, trying to calm his anger, before continuing. "Most of the time, whenever he was around, I just retreated back into my mind and wandered around in there until he left. Duster, Boney, or Kumatora would usually relay the information back to me afterwards."

"...huh. I don't remember THAT from the game."

"Odd. Heh."

oOoOoOoOo

So, during the hour we waited for my mom to arrive back home, I decided to play some music for Lucas. In hindsight, I probably could've used the time to get him accustomed to his new environment, and answer any questions he might have, but hey, whaddya gunna do? Besides I did that stuff later that day, so I guess that makes up for it, maybe. Fearful that I would cause Lucas to become sad again, I decided to play a happy album. A Hard Day's Night by the Beatles, which I believe I almost mentioned to Lucas until he cut me off with another drawing.

When I presented the album to Lucas, he seemed interested in the text on the back, with its talk of movies. "What's a movie?" he asked. "Well, Luke," I started on, "a movie is kinda like a long program you would find on a happy box, or as we call it, a television or a TV, except you go to a theatre to watch it. You came across a theatre in Porky's tower." Dumb ol' me forgot the tower's name.

"So-" I quickly cut him off before he said what I knew he was gunna say. "No, Lucas, movies aren't an evil plot by a dictator to brainwash us, as far as I know. Neither is TV in my world. Porky just took those concepts of entertainment and leisure time, and perverted it with evil intentions." I quickly decided to change the subject so that the thoughts of Porky don't give way to other, more depressing memories, and also to stop myself from rabbit-trailing. "So, anyway, this album is by a band who went by the name of the Beatles. Their music has been incredibly influential; almost all of our music nowadays has roots with music like this. Some of it even influenced the work of your creator!"

"The Dragon!? No, wait, I'm pretty sure he's just a protector... God?!"

"No, the creator of your game in this world, which is also your world in the alternate world you're from, djuh! Look, the theory of multiple realities is really complicated, and with it being seemingly confirmed with your existence, it just opens a whole 'nother can of worms I am not prepared to deal with!"

"...You are making my head hurt!"

"Mine, too. Let's just forget about theories and universes until we can talk about them without our brains exploding. Let's just listen to some music, and hopefully it goes better than last time. Ok?"

"That sounds nice, Cassidy."

For about the next half hour, we listened to the music on that record. I knew that album like the back of my hand, so I knew it was very unlikely to set off any unpleasent memories. However, I made sure the needle never went along the song I'll Cry Instead, just in case. Can't be too careful, can ya? Lucas really seemed to be getting into the tunes. Makes perfect sense to me; some of that album sounds a whole lot like some of the music from the Mother series, at least to me. I could be dead wrong about that. Anyway-

Lucas was up on his feet by the end of the title track, and was contentedly walking around my room during the next few. He really seemed to like I'm Happy Just to Dance With You, and was visibly grooving a bit. Not too much, though. With the horrible events that transpired in his wake still fresh in his mind, I think his mind wasn't completely ready to go all care-free again. I mean, he did for forty minutes in the field earlier, but that sunflower must have brought him out of it again. Is that how brains work? GAH!! So confusing! I am not the right person for this kinda job at ALL!

Back on topic, sorry. By the time the needle went into the deadwax of side 1, Lucas seemed to be perked up a bit, enough to make a facial expression I can confidently describe as happy. "Woo!" he said "These guys are pretty talented! They must be your world's DCMC!"

"Yeah, in a way!"

"These 'Beatles.' Is all their stuff this good?"

"As they made more stuff, they only got better! And they made a looooot of stuff!"

"Can we listen to more?"

I nodded. He smiled. Definitely not over any of what he went over, I don't think anyone could ever truly get over that stuff. I do think I was helping to get his mind off of that stuff, at least until Mom got home. I could only imagine what he would do then. But that didn't matter now. What did matter was the music, so I flipped that record over and let it play. Skipping I'll Cry Instead, of course. When that side ended, I placed the record back in its jacket and said "Heh! That was good, wasn't it Luke?"

"Yes it was!" He was probably the happiest he'd been since the field. In the time between that and my mom getting home, he made a little doodle on a sheet of paper featuring himself dancing in a field of sunflowers, with the caption "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You," in his same scratchy writing. Still a hint of longing for a time since passed (I mean, what else could that flower field represent) but still much happier than his other two drawings. Besides, he seems to have gotten subtlety down now. Seriously, that last drawing was overbearing.

oOoOoOoOo

At around 9:30, Mom walked in through the front door. I told Lucas to wait for me and stay put while I talked to Mom, thinking she'd probably wanna talk to me for a bit before seeing him. He was clearly getting sentimental as I spoke. I gave him a hug before going out to greet Mom. "Hi Mom!"

"Cassidy! Baby! I came as fast as I could. This...this is big. Very big."

...I had no idea WHAT to say. I felt whatever I said would be inappropriate or something, so I just let Mom finish her spiel before I brought Lucas into this.

...Her spiel lasted a good five minutes straight. I wasn't even sure if she took a breath during most of it. I'm not gunna subject you to the whole thing; it's just five minutes of the same few basic points repeated over and over. "This is important!" "God has chosen us!" "This means something, but I don't know what it means!" You get the point. After her spiel was over, she panted heavily, looked me dead in the eyes and said "Bring the boy to me!"

"Yes, mom." I walked back into my room, where Lucas was sitting back in the spinning office chair, fiddling with his fingers, a lot on his mind. He got up, not much emotion in his black eyes. My guess is that he was feeling emotional, probably thinking his mother and the loss thereof, and he didn't wanna break down in tears in front of mine, and so he was pushing those feelings deep down, and I gotta give him props, cos he's pretty good at that.

He extended his hand, and I took it. I guess he wanted me to walk him to my mother. And that's what I did. With me leaning over to the side a slight bit (due to his smaller size compared to me), I held his hand as we walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where Mom was sitting at the kitchen table. She stared, unbelieving, at the blond-haired boy with cartoony proportions and a fake look (I don't how else to word that last point without repeating the "dropping his Smash Bros. Ultimate model in my world" thing I said earlier. I can only say that his appearance didn't look uncanny or creepy, and didn't really look 'real', and that'll give you a good indication as to how to picture it. Oops, rabbit-trailing again.) to him, thinking maybe she was being delusional. It was only when Lucas spoke to her that things TRULY began to sink in (if they didn't already when she saw him over Hangouts).

"H-Hello miss. It's n-nice to meet you!"

Mom slowly got up from her chair, mouth open, eyes staring, and made her way to the boy. She knelt down slightly so that her head was just slightly above his. She put her hand on his cheek, feeling his face, and ran her fingers through his hair quiff. Lucas looked around, and looked down. I have a feeling he was remembering his own mother. Lucas looked my mom dead in the eyes and started tearing up.

"Lucas-"

Mom interrupted me before I could help Lucas. "Cass, please. This...boy...has a lot on his mind. I know from my experience as a mother of 2 children that sometimes the best thing you can do is let it all out. Lucas... please tell me how you feel."

It was at that moment that the floodwaters broke.

oOoOoOoOo

 **Kinda an awkward place to leave things, but it's getting kinda long. I hope this chapter is good. What could I have done better? Please let me know! Special thanks to MetroidMan101 for his support, and Ian R. Moros for shouting me out in his latest chapter! It's truly an honor! (please let Claus live!) Please Follow, Favorite and Review! See ya next time!**

 **-Garrett**


	6. Chapter 6

_I own nothing. Mother 3/Earthbound are owned by Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi_

 _The Day That PK Love Came To Play_

 _Chapter 6_

Actually, I don't think the metaphor of "the floodwaters breaking" is quite extreme enough to describe what happened. Imagine...Imagine a dam, and there is a lot of water behind it. Now, imagine that dam suddenly vanishing without a trace, leaving all of that water to rush out and destroy whatever's in its path.

Yeah, that's a pretty accurate metaphor for what happened. Lucas's black eyes were copiously leaking tears (gross way of putting that, eh Cassidy?) like he hadn't cried in years. My mother was kneeling down, holding his head over her shoulder, and letting him cry out his troubles. He was mindlessly and wordlessly wailing, like the songs of a humpback whale being imitated by a tone-deaf person.

The first word I was able to make out from the boy's crying fit was "Momma." If one was looking upon the scene, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was half of his actual age! "My momma's dead...I miss her..." Mom rubbed the back of his head to try and comfort the crying boy.

"It's ok, Lucas," she whispered. "Your mother is always watching over you."

"Yeah! Thank you! That REALLY makes me feel better! My mom is watching me, but I can't see, hear, feel, or speak to her EVER again, and if I DO see her it results in either me jumping off of cliffs or...or..." He quickly returned to manic wailing. I was SERIOUSLY caught off by his response; I never would have expected this level of angry sass from him. I don't think Mom was expecting that either, and the look on her face proved it. She had NO idea what he was talking about, but I did.

"Or...what, Lucas?"

"C...Cc-Claus..."

"Claus? Who's that, dear?"

Seeing Mom talk to Lucas, whom she was shocked to see existing just a minute before, like he was her own child was a very touching sight to see, if not slightly amusing. Oh, sorry, that musta sounded kinda insensative. Or...was it? I dunno, I'm not very good with words.

"C..Claus was my brother... my twin. He...sniff...disappeared three years ago, and we finally found him...but...when we did...he...he..."

And, like clockwork, more wailing. I find it...interesting how, in talking about Claus, Lucas only included the details my mother would understand, not mentioning the dragos, the PSI, the chimera-ization (?), only the bare basics. I guess he subconsiously knew Mom would have NO idea what he would be talking about otherwise, so he would save those details until later. Clever boy!

"A mother and a brother...I'm so sorry. You must have had a lot of pain in your life," Mom calmly said. Lucas nodded. "S...so much...Even my home...destroyed before my eyes..."

Mom stayed silent for a while afterwards, as Lucas continued to cry both the Mississippi and Missouri rivers simultaneously. I guess she felt there was not much more she could say, and just decided to let Lucas expell his sorrows through his eyes.

After what felt like forever, when Lucas' crying went from a 10 to a, I don't know, a 7.5, Mom finally broke the silence. "Lucas, would you like something to eat? Maybe something to fill your stomach would make you feel a bit better. Always worked with my kids! Hehe." She was right about that, I hate to admit. And that made me realize that, other than a single piece of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a couple bites of watermelon, Lucas hadn't eaten since he got to my world.

"Tell me Lucas," Mom continued, "what kind of things do you like to eat?"

"Sniff...Omelets...I like omelets..."

"Well, I know how to make omelets. Would you like an omelet, Lucas?

"...Thank you ma'am."

oOoOoOoOoOo

I'm still surprised that Mom was so accepting of Lucas's existence, and was so willing to take him in and help him out. I assumed she would kick him out, or at the very least be terrified. I guess sometimes you gotta give some people the benefit of the...I'm getting off topic again. Crap!

Anyway, for the next five or ten minutes, Mom was in front of the stove preparing an omelet for Lucas. Lucas stood next to her the whole time, never taking his eyes off of the process, probably remembering better times, tears in the corner of his eyes. Mom kept blabbering on about how she hasn't made too many omelets or something; I didn't keep track.

Soon enough, the omelet was done. It was served on a nice china plate with a nice metal fork, topped with some nice parmesan cheese (nice nice nice nice. No other words, Cass, hm?). Lucas took a small bite off the fork, chewed for a bit, and swallowed. He looked off into the distance and said "Just...Just like Mom's..." Even our attempts to make him happy just make him more miserable. I quickly ran behind the crying boy and held him. His breathing was off-kilter and jumpy, and he was shaking like he was freezing cold, or in my case, walking through the freezer section of Wal-Mart (I'm kinda pathetic when it comes to cold). I just wanted him to know that everything would be ok, which I wasn't even sure it was gunna be.

"Come on Lucas," my mom said. "Finish up your omelet."

"SNIFF! Yes ma'am..."

Lucas slowly, and obediently, ate his omelet. It was obvious that he loved the taste, but the thought of his mother wouldn't leave his mind. I ran off from the dining room into the kitchen to get some paper towels for Lucas. I ran a bit too fast, and I probably should've remembered what Mom said about...not doing that, because I tripped over my own foot and hit my head on the floor.

"Cassidy!" Mom ran over to my side. "My God, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Well, I was half right. My head was ok, but I slipped and scraped my heel on the corner of a cabinet door. It took a while for the pain to set in, only when I noticed the blood exiting my wound, but my God, when the pain set in, I just had to scream before stopping myself.

"CASSIDY!" It seemed Lucas let his crying slow to a trickle to notice what was happening and run up to my side.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll go get some antiseptic!"

"No, miss. I can handle this!"

"What?"

"Just stay there. I can do this. Lifeup ɑ!"

Lucas rose his hand over my wound, which was surrounded by a sparkling blue-green aura which made my wound heal itself. If I had to describe what that felt like, my wounds closing and sealing up, well, um... You know that feeling you get when you peel dried glue off your fingers? Yeah, it felt something like that.

My mom stood there dumbfounded, at the kid who just healed up a scrape on my foot like it was nothing. "What...? What did you just do? How did you do that?!"

"What? Does...Does PSI not exist in this world?"

"PS...I? Is...is that magic? Cassidy, is this a magical boy?"

"Well, um, I'm pretty sure PSI is a more mental thing than magic, and-"

"It really is a miracle!"

"Mom, again, I'm not sure-"

"Lucas, you must have been brought here for a reason, for us, for the world, by God himself!"

"Ma'am, that's rather nice of you, but I'm just a boy."

"Just a boy!? No! Lucas, you are special! What else are you capable of? Cassidy, do you know what else this boy can do?"

"Mom, that's very rude!" I said, in an obviously playful manner, poking fun at how often she's said stuff like that to me. Also, if I may add, I've always wanted to say that and not get in trouble! Hehehe!

"Oh! Oh dear! Lucas, I'm so sorry! I'm still a bit overwhelmed." Wow. I'm only just NOW realizing as I'm writing this down how much my mom's words are mirroring my own. Like mother like son, I guess, I dunno.

"It's ok, ma'am. May...may I finish my omelet? You cook...just like Mom used to..."

Mom wiped the tears that were forming in the bottom of his eyes away with her thumbs, hugged him for a bit, and led him back to the table.

As Lucas finished up his meal, in a much better mood but still visibly sad, Mom went off into her room. I followed her and saw her furiously texting something on her phone. I looked and saw it was on the family conversation she made for me, Dad, and Incendi on Google Hangouts. She was typing something along the lines of "Come home quick! Magical Boy has appeared in our home! From Cassidy's game! Oh my God!"

"Um, Mom, you know that neither of them will be off of work for hours, right?"

"They'll see it eventually! They will!"

"Mom, you're being hysterical."

"I'M NOT BEING..." She took a sharp breath. "Sorry, it's just...this has never happened to me before, and I don't know how to really take it in."

"I don't think anyone does!"

"Heh! Yeah, you're right." She gave me a hug. "I love you, baby!"

"I love you too, Mom."

"...So, what do we do now?"

"I guess, we try and make Lucas feel welcome in our home, in our world, as best we can." There I go pretending I know what I'm doing. Well, no one does. Heh.

oOoOoOoOo

 **Y'know what, I'm not actually too sure about this chapter. I spent a lot of time on it, but I'm not all too sure that it's really up to snuff. What do you guys think? Follow, Favorite, and Review, and make sure to leave your feedback! Special thanks to Boy Goy, 1rk3n, MetroidMan101, Ian R. Moros, and Twitter users @_ConcussiveRed, @wolfpacgamer, @QueLovecraft, @GenocidalPony, and @MotherMailbox for all of their help and support! See ya next chapter!**

 **-garrett**


	7. Chapter 7

_I own nothing. Mother 3/Earthbound are owned by Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi_

 _The Day That PK Love Came To Play_

 _Chapter 7_

Mom and I spent the good part of 15 minutes in phone calls with dad and my sister Incendi, trying to explain to them the situation at hand. Incendi thought we were playing some kind of practical joke (not that I blame her) and dad didn't know what to think. I won't bore you with the details, as it was essentially 15 minutes of white noise, especially when it devolved into a massive, angry argument between Mom and Dad, as most conversations seemed to as of late. When I walked out of Mom's room, Lucas had gone and left his plate and silverware on the table, which I proceeded to place in the dishwasher. I then noticed a familiar piano riff was playing, coming from my room. Seems Lucas had gotten the hang of the record player!

I walked into my room, to which the door was left slightly ajar, and saw that Lucas was at my drawing desk, furiously scribbling. A record was on my turntable, the needle about a sixth of the way through, and noticed the record's cover propped up against the record box. It was a landscape of a beach with a large bent metallic tube floating above.

"Tubular Bells, huh?" I quipped. "You seem to choose great records to listen to!" I forgot that he had only chosen one record at this point and he had only listened to one track from it. My memory span NEVER fails to leave me dumbfounded. I walked up behind him to look at what he was drawing, but not before bending over and picking up the defaced Franklin badge. The word 'Accursed' written scratchilly (is that a word?) in red marker across it, I could tell, would be very hard to remove. I decided to pin it to my shirt, over my heart. I don't know why I did that. It just felt right.

I looked and saw him put the finishing touches on a new drawing. It was almost all black, scribbled pencil, with a single spotlight-like lit patch in which Lucas was laying, completely emotionless. Above and below the drawing, written by erasing certain parts of the blackness, were the words 'Why are they gone? Why wasn't it me?"

"Sigghhh. Lucas, do you really feel this way?"

"I...I don't know."

"I guess Mom brought out some feelings in you."

"...Mhm...and, before I came back here, I heard you talking on your 'cell-phone' to your sister. It...it made me remember-"

"Claus?"

"Yeah, Claus. I...SNIFF!...We had so many good times together. I don't think I can ever forget a conversation we had together, just a few days before the Pigmasks arrived, while we were watching the sheep."

"Wanna tell me about it?"

"...ok."

oOoOoOoOo

(I decided that writing this whole bit in quotes would be weird, so I'll just write it from Lucas's POV. Ok? -C.C.)

We had just been woken up. Dad was shouting his head off because one of our ewes had just given birth. Claus and I loved the baby lambs, so after we tore through our omelets like sheets of paper, we ran out to see the new lamb.

It was nice and sunny, a few clouds scattered here and there in the sky. A slight breeze kept the grass swaying, and the leaves on the trees were dancing.

The lamb was laying next to its mother, still a bit shiny. After the typical 'Awwww's' that typically follow that sort of thing, the lamb started to quiver a bit. Sure enough, next thing you know, it's standing up, and trying to walk. Now, of course, seeing a lamb, freshly born, trying to walk, it's nothing new. Me and Claus have seen it so many times, and it's always adorable.

However, I noticed Claus looked...rather deep in thought. I hadn't really seen him like this all too much. Usually, he was the kinda kid to poke me in the back of my shirt if I was even slightly drifting off or would play innocent little tricks on me to try and make me and others laugh. I never really saw him be this...introspective? I think I heard Lighter say that word one time in passing when referring to Leder, but I never thought that Claus would be acting like this.

Anyway, we were both watching this baby lamb, taking its first steps in front of its mother. Claus turned to me, and motioned for us to go talk in private. Again, this was new for Claus, so I knew I had to listen to what he had to say.

"Claus?" I asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, Lucas, I'm fine," he replied, "it's just..."

I tilted my head. "Yes?"

"Well, seeing that lamb, seeing it walking for the first time, it made me realize something..." He looked away, putting his hand behind his head.

"What? What did it make you realize?"

He looked me dead in the eyes as he said, "We aren't gunna be kids forever."

"Wha?"

That was not something I thought I'd hear from him. If anything, I thought he'd say something about staying young, and not growing up, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I said, "Claus, what are you talking about?"

He responded, moving his arms around a bit, "Well, I've been thinking for a while, and seeing that lamb taking its first steps really made it clear to me. We won't be kids forever. One day, like that lamb, we'll have to take our first steps on our own."

I looked down a bit, "Well, phtphp, yeah! Of course, but that won't be for a while."

"Hehehe, you couldn't make it a day without your family, couldn't you?" he teased, a grin appearing on his face.

"Is that a bad thing? I love you guys!"

"And I love you all too, but before we know it, we're gunna be old and bald and weird. We're gonna be living on our own, and we're gunna have to...what's the word...contri...bute... to the village," he said with his finger on his chin.

"Contribute? What do you mean?"

He looked behind me, seeing Boney chasing...something I can't quite remember, but responded to me saying, "Well, everyone in the village does something for the village. Like, uh, Lighter and Fuel provide wood, Mapson gives people maps, Leder rings his bell, I'm pretty sure our family's sheep are used for something-"

"Ooooh, I see what you mean. But, we're young, so why not enjoy it now?"

He looked back in my eyes. "I'm not saying we can't enjoy it! We should enjoy it for as long as we can! I can't imagine having to live without Mom and Dad now!"

"Yeah, me neither..."

"Yeah, you'd probably cry without them!" he teased again.

"Hey!"

"What? I didn't say anything! Hehehehe!" He burst into laughter, as he normally would after a playful teasing.

"Claus! Hehehehe!" His laughter was always the most...what's the word...contagious?...in the whole village.

We laughed for a while. It was nice. Claus broke it off, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I've actually been thinking about what we can do for the village!"

"Really? What have you been thinking of?"

"Remember when we went to visit Angie and Caroline?"

"Uhuh?" I nodded.

"And she showed us what we could do with the cream from sheep's milk and ice?"

"That ice-cream stuff?" I tilted my head.

He moved his hand off my shoulder. "Yea! We both really liked making it taste like different things. So, maybe, when we're older, we can give different types of ice-cream out, like Mapson and his maps!"

"That sounds...pretty nice! And we can do it together!"

"Well, of course, I wouldn't wanna do any of this without my brother!"

After that, he pulled me into a hug, which...I just never wanted to end. The day went on as usual, as if that conversation never happened. Claus went off to visit Fuel, and he was just like his old, rowdy self, and...and...and...

oOoOoOoOo

(And back to my POV. -C.C.)

And just like that, his story was cut off by another crying fit. Not as aggressive as the one before, but still aggressive. Face down on the desk, narrowly avoiding soaking his drawing with tears. Not really knowing how to handle this (as is per usual), I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. He turned his head and looked me in the eye. He took a big sniff and a tear ran down his cheek.

"Th..thank you for...for listening...to me..."

"No problem, Luke! I...I wanna say something, but I don't wanna make you cry anymore."

"It's fine, I...I can take it," he said as a build-up of tears told me otherwise.

"Ngulp...well, I...I'm so sorry that you'll never be able to...um.." I stuttered for a bit, trying to figure out what words to use, but Lucas cut me off, understanding the gist what I was going to say.

"It's...It's fine, Cassidy. I...I just..."

"Listen Lucas. I hate seeing you in pain. If it were in my abilities, I would reach into the great heavens above and return those you love. But, seeing how I'm only a stupid human, I'll have to settle with working together with my family to try and make your pain go away, even just a bit. Ok?"

At this point I felt like a broken record. I told him this before, and each time I told him it, I felt like I was lying to him, and myself. His pain was greater than any pain I had ever known, and I had no idea how to make him feel better.

Pff, whatever. I was gunna say that same thing to him as many times as I needed to, as it seemed to work. Lucas was wiping the tears from his face and at least trying to smile at me. After another hug and a couple thank you's, we continued on with the day.

oOoOoOoOo

After that, for the next, I dunno, hour maybe, I went around the house with Lucas teaching him about all of the various modern conveniences and whatnot. And before you say "But Cassidy, he already knows about this, because of the Pigmasks!", I would argue otherwise. See, he kinda lived away from the modern conveniences of the Pigmasks, and kept to the same lifestyle, not without a few Thunder Tower strikes, for about 3 years. Besides, even if he did know about it, which he very well might have, I dunno, the technology in this world could be very different. It can never hurt to make sure, so I taught him about everything to be on the safe-side. If he had a question, I made sure to answer it.

After an hour of this, I think he had a fairly decent understanding of technology, even if he said himself that he was gunna try to abstain from it as much as he could. He looked visibly uncomfortable being around our TV and family computer (not a Family Computer, just a family PC), but seemed more ok with stuff like lightbulbs and running water and, of course, the record player. After getting him acquainted with technology, we finished listening to Tubular Bells, which he almost seemed to get lost in. Not that I blame him, it is very mesmerizing! Hehehe.

After I put the record back in its sleeve, Incendi walked through the front door, at around noon I believe,

"Lord...Almighty!" she said. "It's true... Lucas!"

"Yup...that's my name," Lucas said, as he got up and walked towards her, his head pointed up to meet her eyes. "I assume you are Incendi. It's nice to meet you."

He extended his hand upward, which Incendi grabbed and shook up and down. Already, he had made a less...intense first impression with her than he did with my mother. Odd, considering how Incendi being my sibling shoulda sparked something, but honestly, the less Lucas cries and hates himself, the better.

They talked for a while. He mainly just recapped the day so far, holding back tears a few times. My the end, Incendi was hugging him tight as a single tear ran down his cheek. Again, at least he's not crying just as much. Heh, the way I talk about this, you'd think I woulda known him for more than, like, 4 hours. I guess we just made a connection.

oOoOoOoOo

Not much happened for the next few hours, until Dad got home about 4. The most I can say is that, after getting himself aquainted with my sister, Mom wanted Lucas to show her what he was capable of. Luckily, there was plenty of room in the backyard for him to do so without damaging anything. Mom stood behind Lucas the whole time while Incendi and I sat in some fold up chairs we put in the backyard. Mom got a metal target from the garage (Before we moved to Gainesville, me and my family lived in an area of Sumter county close to a patch of woods. Dad used that metal target for...well, target practice in the woods with his plethora of firearms. I remember I was always wowed by his colllection and abilities. His guns and target now reside in the garage, except for a single pistol he keeps in his bedroom "just in case of a break-in."), and placed it down in the yard for Lucas to aim at.

Lucas decided to start off with the non-offensive techniques. In quick succession, he performed Offense Up, Defense Up, Counter, Lifeup, Healing, and Refresh, all in the α stages, crying out the names as he used them. A spectacular light show, of different colors and styles of movement depending on the move, surrounded his body as they were performed. Mom was agape, truly speechless, and when Lucas was done with those moves, Mom broke out into a cheer and fierce applause. Incendi and I clapped along.

After taking a moment to breathe, he faced the target, and brought his hands to his chest as he closed his eyes.

"PK FLASH α"

As he said that, a twinkle surrounded his body and a ball of light slowly rose from his body. He steered the ball toward the target with his mind, little noises escaping his mouth, and as it hit, the ball exploded into a blinding light. Incendi and I had the foresight to turn and close our eyes, but if her scream was any indication, Mom didn't.

"AAAH! My eyes! I can't stop crying!"

"Oh! Ma'am, I'm- I'm so sorry!"

"N-no, boy, i-i-i'ts ok. Just feel a little strange's all."

"Hold on; kneel down."

Mom did as Lucas requested, at which point Lucas threw his hand back and onto her forehead.

"HEALING α!"

A light green aura enveloped my mom's forehead. She put her hand up to her temple and removed it with an amazed look.

"I-It's gone! Thank you!"

"Y-You're welcome, but whoo! I think I'm nearly out of PP."

Mom opened her eyes shocked, as if to say "I'm sorry, what?!"

"I-It stands for Psychic Points. Once I'm out, I-I can't use PSI."

"How do you get more of them?"

"A rest in a hot spring, a good night's sleep, and certain foods. However, I think I have enough PP to show you the last of my abilities."

"Well, go ahead, dear!" Again, it amazes me how motherly she was acting towards this, in all respects, complete stranger. And only yesterday, she was yelling at Dad for a good hour or so about... something they had both forgotten about by the end of it while I was trying to read. I would talk in more detail about my parents' relationship but, to be honest, it makes me too uncomfortable.

Anyways, Lucas stepped away from Mom, and got back in position. He started getting little flashes of light blue-ish hexagonal PSI surrounding him as he started waving his hands in front of him, as he got into a pose with his legs apart. Then, he started quickly moving his arms. First, he moved them in spirals, his hands moving toward each other until they met in the center. He moved his hands out to the side and moved them back toward each other. Then, he quickly moved his arms out to the side, fingers splayed. Hexagonal PSI mimicked the motions of his hands, and when he finished his arm movements, he shouted out "PK LOVE α!!!" at which, the PSI exploded outward, looking just like the game. Small hexagonal PSI explosions surrounded the target, causing it to shake, and the chains holding the target up snapped, and the target fell to the grass with a THUNK!

Mom, Incendi, and I were awestruck. _That was only the α version of the attack_ , I thought, _what else could he be capable of, Holy Crap!_ We all let out a round of applause. Lucas seemed a bit flattered, and his cheeks showed little pink ovals as he blushed. He giggled, and smiled. Well, he seemed happier. The day could only get better when Dad got back home! R-right?

oOoOoOoOo

 **My God, this is a long one! Hope it was worth it! Hope the next chapter is good! Hope to hope hope hope! HOPE! Heheheh! Special thanks to MetroidMan101** , **PopsicleCream795, Connor the Speling Pro, PkSmashBros, and Filthy Wineglass. Also thanks to Twitter users @Ninten_Omega, @Callme_Wumple, @CommanderSnacks, @QueLovecraft, @LegendaryWario, @NintenZ, @PkShrub, @BoyGloyCoy, and anyone else I forgot to mention! Specific thanks goes to @Callme_Wumple and PopsicleCream795, who made fanart for the story. That kinda thing is always appreciated! Thank you all so much! Follow, Favorite, and Review! See ya!**

 **-garrett**


	8. Chapter 8

_I own nothing. Mother 3/Earthbound are property of Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi._

 **The Day That PK Love Came to Play**

 **Ch.** **8**

Dad got home at around 4, after a few hours of Lucas, Mom, Incendi, and I sitting around after the PSI show. Lucas sat down with mom for a good long while and recapped his life to her, or, basically, he game her a plot synopsis of his game. Mom clearly didn't understand portions of it, but if the tears in Lucas's eyes (which, when I looked more clearly at them, I could see a very small hint of blue within the black) were any indication, it was quite emotional for him. Mom did what any good mom would do and gave him a hug during his crying fit. I can only hope that during his time with us, he can maybe learn to...um...what's the word? Uh...I think you know what I'm tryna say. Maybe.

Mom decided that a good way to help him calm down was to turn on the TV, clearly not understanding what Lucas was talking about with 'Happy Boxes.' She was REALLY close to turning it to Nick Jr., until I told her that Lucas was, like, 12. Heh, you shoulda seen the look on her face when I told her, heheheh! Oh, um, that was uncalled for, I'm sorry. Moving on! Lucas was rather apprehensive, but I was quick to remind him that TV in our world is not made for brainwashing (for the most part). He mostly calmed down, but he still seemed rather suspicious. Incendi and I sat on either side of Lucas, and Mom sat on my other side, as she put on an episode of Jeopardy she recorded that I missed the previous night, due to my extended nap.

"Oh, mom, you shouldn't have!"

"Well, I knew you were asleep, hun, and you'd miss the show, so I had to!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

I saw Lucas's gaze bounce between Mom and I as we spoke, with a vacant look in his eyes, like he was looking past us.

"Hmmm...interesting categories." I said to myself. One of the categories was 'Mother', and I noticed Lucas looking away from the TV as that category appeared. Mom, Incendi, and I talked to each other about the episode, as we normally do when watching Jeopardy.

"Heh! How long has that one guy in the middle been in the game?"

"Too long!"

"Hehehe! Look at Alex Trebek! I bet he's thinking 'I can't wait for you to lose!'"

We all had a good laugh at Mom's bad joke, and Lucas just sat there quietly. Sure, he was probably confused at our in-jokes, but he also had that same vacant look. Especially when the contestants on the show kept choosing the 'Mother' category. After everything in that category was taken (which happened, may I add, rather quickly), he was less focused on that and more on something else, which I couldn't put my finger on until he just came out and said it.

"Um...excuse me? What are those symbols and numbers those people get when they answer correctly."

"Oh!" Mom stepped in. "Money! They get money when they answer correctly."

"Hmph!"

"Um, Mom, remember that DP stuff he kept mentioning?" I said.

"Well, how could I not? He seemed rather annoyed by its existence."

"That was money."

"Oh! Oooooohh..."

Looking down, pouting, arms crossed. Lucas seemed pretty peeved. I'm sure he was rather annoyed that this world he was thrust in still kept in the money he seemed to hate so much. He quickly stood up and walked off, bringing me along, grabbing me by the wrist. Soon enough, we were back in my room.

oOoOoOoOo

"Cassidy! Why didn't you tell me your world had money?"

"I-I don't know, it never came to mind. I didn't think it would make you this mad!"

"Mad! I'm not mad! I just thought this would be a better world. Money brought me nothing but trouble. I mean, after Kumatora joined me on my quest, she handled all the DP for us."

"Huh. That...wasn't in your game."

I mean, I could understand his frustration, but I hadn't seen him like this in the however-many hours I'd known him. Then again, he is human and humans have a full range of feeling. Or..wait, is that how...gah, forget it. I'm sure you know what I'm trying to say.

"Sigghhh, look, I'm sorry, Cassidy. I...I didn't mean to sound so mean. I...what was that lady's name again?"

"What, Mom?"

He looked down. "N-n-no, the girl who sang the thunder song."

"Oh! I never said her name! She's Stevie Nicks!"

"She sounds just like...guh! I wanna hear her more!"

"Are you sure? I don't want you to-"

"Please?"

Silence.

"Heheh, ok. Let me get it." I fished the record from the box again, and held it up. "Now, Lucas, for future reference, the band that made this album, called Rumours, is named Fleetwood Mac. Stevie Nicks is one of the singers. The other singers are Lindsey Buckingham, who also plays guitar, and Christine McVie, who also plays piano." Lucas gave me the occasional nod or 'uh-huh.' "There are two other guys, drummer and bassist Mick Fleetwood, who's this guy on the cover next to Stevie, and John McVie. Got it?"

"Y-yeah, I think so. B-But why do you keep referring these people by two names? Isn't one good enough?"

"Oh!" Yea, sure, I don't recall anyone in his game referring to each other by their last names, but it never occured to me that no one in Tazmily had a last name. Come to think of it, after the end of the 'world,' I guess they'd wanna 'simplify' society, and removing surnames would do that. Or something. I-I-I think. "Well, people in this world-"

I stopped. Our heads both turned as I heard the front door open. Dad was home.

"N-nevermind! We'll tell you later! I'll let the record play. If the music makes you feel anything bad, make sure to yell for me."

"I'll be fine, Cassidy."

"Ok, if you say so. I gotta go say hi to the big man!"

I placed the needle down, he gave me a hug, and I went out to see my dad in the doorway, leaving the door to my room open just a crack. I liked how he was getting so much into music, and was eager to guide him through it, if only to get his mind onto more positive stuff.

Anyways, my dad! He's about 2 or 3 inches taller than my mom, about the same height as Incendi. Short, brownish-grey hair across the top of his head, getting longer as they approach the back of his head. He's not too muscular, but not scrawny, either. Somewhere in the middle. He works in road construction, I believe, so he has a bit of a sun-tan. His voice, if I had to describe it, is if someone like Richard Burton or Vincent Price were American and not British.

"Hi, Dad!" I said. "How was wo-"

"Honey." Dad said, ignoring me. "Why didn't you tell me when you first heard?"

"Well," she responded. "I needed to make sure it wasn't a joke."

"Hmmm... OK, then. Are you sure it wasn't just to get away from Loreena?"

"Babe, I already told you-"

"Seriously, why would you wanna be around that-"

"DAD! MOM! PLEASE!" Incendi butted in. "We have a child in that room over there" she pointed to my room, "who has been through worse things in the past three years of his life than any of us have in our whole lives. Now, if you excuss me, I don't think another pointless argument will make situation any better! Capiche?"

Wow.

I looked at her in a way that said "I didn't think you've-" to which she responded with a look that told me "I played the Tomato ROM."

"...I...I'm sorry, sweetie. That was out of line."

"Ya think?" Mom said under her breath. "I...It's fine."

"Thanks, hun. Now, Cass, son, where is he? Where is the boy?"

"Oh, uh, Dad, he's in my room, listening to Fleetwood Mac."

"May...May I go see him?"

"Well, sure, but I'm coming along."

"Yes, of course."

I could've sworn I saw Dad give Mom the stink-eye as we walked down the hallway to my room. I looked through the small opening in the doorway, and I saw Lucas sitting at my desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Track one of Rumours was almost over; the song was fading out. (Note to self: never use semicolons again. -C.C.)

He placed the pencil down and shook his wrist a few times, before turning around to face us.

"Oh! Um...uh...hello. I...uh...so you're Cassidy's dad?"

"Yes, yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you...dah, slipping on the name..."

"Lucas."

"Lucas! Yes."

What followed was a rather awkward handshake. Dad then gasped, and for a moment I didn't know why.

"Cass, we need to take another family photo!"

"What do you mean, Da- GASP!"

Dumb Ol' Forgetful Cassidy to not only forget about something so important, but to also not write about it until now. Welp, better late than never, I guess. My family has this thing where everytime something 'special' happens, they'd take a new family photo and frame it on the wall near the front door. 'Specialness' can mean anything from Mom and Dad's wedding night, a birth, a birthday, Incendi's college graduation, etc. There are currently, like, 20 photos on the wall, and I guess Dad found Lucas's arrival special enough to warrant a new one, not that I blame him.

oOoOoOoOo

Yeah, that impromptu photo shoot wasn't very easy. Well, I mean, it was easy for most of us, since we all had done it many times before. But Lucas...well I highly doubt that he's ever had to pose for a photo in his life, so he had many questions.

"I thought cell phones were for talking to people." "How does a camera work?" "Why are you all standing and smiling so oddly?" "Where is the cheese?" Believe me, he asked a lot. We couldn't really answer most of them, so we just kinda dodged them, but I have a feeling he didn't appreciate that all too much.

The final product was me, Incendi, and Mom and Dad standing and smiling, while Lucas, front and center, fiddling with his fingers, weakly smiles at the camera. We were all satisfied with the picture, although I can tell Mom and Dad had a few disagreements about the final picture, while Lucas didn't seem to care which photo was used. Incendi e-mailed it to one of her friends, who, after freaking out at the most obvious thing different about our family, said it would be framed and sent to us within the week.

Lucas got a drink of water (I could tell that he found getting water from our fridge rather odd) and headed back to my room. I decided to leave him to listening to music and drawing, and spend some time in the living room with my parents and Incendi, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

oOoOoOoOo

 **A rather unusual place to leave things, but to be honest, I feel like you guys have waited long enough for a new chapter. It has been a while, hasn't it. The whole family is together, and the first day of summer is beginning to wane. How will the rest of the day go, and the future? How will Lucas deal with the future going forward, and will he begin to feel better, and will Cassidy help any? Special thanks to all of my readers and followers who have helped me along, here and on Twitter, who are becoming too numerous to name. Thank you all! See ya next time, which will hopefully be sooner.**

 **-garrett.**


	9. Chapter 9

_I own nothing but my own imagination. Mother 3/Earthbound are owned by Nintendo/Shigesato Itoi_

 _The Day PK Love Came To Play_

 _chapter 9_

After a while, Rumours was finished. Lucas seemed to like it, but seemed especially drawn to the songs Stevie Nicks sang on. Rather odd, doncha think? It was honestly hard to focus on the album sometimes because Mom and Dad were arguing about something AGAIN, and I heard Incendi trying to calm them. I can only assume that it's an adult thing. When the album was finished, he put the finishing touches on the drawing he was working on. He handed it to me, and said, "Do you like it, Cassidy?" He looked down and twiddled his fingers nervously. I looked down at the drawing and saw what it was.

Firstly, it had a long line seperating the paper in half hot-dog style, if that makes any sense. On the top of the line, there were 3 circles with small drawings in them. Below the line, same deal. Each of the circles corresponded with a song on the album, and each drawing had the title of the song written above it in Lucas's trademark scratchy writing. For the sake of simplicity, I'll go over each one individually, if that's OK with you. OK? OK.

Dreams: Lucas in bed, with a little dream-cloud above him reading 'DOWNHILL.'

Go Your Own Way: Lucas is reaching out in vain for someone running away. I can only assume that it's Claus.

Songbird: Lucas, from the neck-down, holding a Squacking Stick in one hand and a Slitherhen on the other.

The Chain: A boy, presumably Claus, chained to the ground. He is shaking and a puddle of tears is below his face, which is obscured by shadows.

I Don't Want To Know: Lucas, with lines surrounding him indicating that he's shaking, surrounded by dark lines, covering his hears and closing his eyes.

Gold Dust Woman: The silhouette of (presumably) Hinawa, in a position similar to Rennaisance (probably misspelled that) paintings of angels.

Lucas's artistic abilities never cease to amaze me.

"I'll be sure to get Mom to hang these on the fridge!"

"Why?"

"So everyone can see them!"

"But why the fridge? Isn't that where food goes?"

"It's just a thing that happens, Luke. Speaking of food, it's about time for dinner!"

Lucas paused, and looked up at me with wandering eyes (maybe? idk anymore) "Should I come?"

"Well...of course! You're one of us, arencha?" I still don't know if that was the right wording. He looked down befire looking back up and smiling weakly. I made sure to put Rumours back in it's sleeve and back in the box before going out to the kitchen.

oOoOoOoOo

Mom had made a nice dinner for us: angel hair and garlic rolls. Dad's had quite a bit of meat in his sauce, Incendi and I had just sauce and cheese, Mom had lots tomato chunks in her sauce (which, if I may, is disgusting), and doing her best from what she could glean from Lucas (glean? I don't know why I try to sound smart) and all of his Lucasness (?), his angel hair just had cheese on it.

"Thank you all so much..." He smiled, looking in the verge of tears.

"Hehehe, don't mention it!" Mom said. Lucas went and sat down, as did the rest of us, and picked up his fork.

"Woaoaoah! Lucas, wait!"

"Oh, I...I'm sorry...um...uuuhhh..."

"Incendi."

"Incendi, yes, I'm so sorry."

"Eh, it's fine! Mom still confused my name with Cass's!" Incendi pointed at

"Hey!" Mom looked a bit offended.

"Honey, you know it's true!" Dad smirked.

"Yeah, Mom. Be honest!" I said, trying not to laugh, and snickering a bit.

Lucas's eyes kept bouncing between us as we continued our banter.

"Anyway!" Incendi continued. "We still haven't said grace yet, Luke!"

"Grace?" Lucas tilted his head to the side, his hair brushing up against me. I wanted to say something, but I thought it would be awkward. It's still rather awkward writing it down. Hehe...heh..

"Oh, well, basically, we all pray, and thank the Lord for providing the food!"

"But..." He looked behind him, before looking back at her. "Didn't your mother..." he looked down and closed his eyes, before looking back up. "...make this?"

"Well, yes, but it's just something some families do! Come, follow our lead!"

One by one, we locked our hands, our heads lowered and eyes closed. I felt a small hand hold onto mine, letting me know Lucas did as we did.

Incendi started the prayer. "Lord, we thank you for all you've blessed us with. We thank you for our family and for the newest member thereof, Lucas." I felt Lucas grab my hand harder as Incendi said this. She continued, "We thank you for the bountiful meal. We hope it may fill our souls, as much as it does our bodies, with love and compassion towards you and to all. We love you, oh Lord, and we pray this in Jesus name."

"Amen!" We all said, opening our eyes. Lucas looked around and quietly said "..Amen.."

We soon began eating. Mom makes pasta like no other! Lucas seemed to think so too, but mostly seemed a bit shy as the rest of us engaged in general dinner conversation.

"MMM! Mom, you've really outdone yourself!"

"Oh! Oh, stop!"

"Come on, honey! Let your son compliment you!"

"Ok, fine. I just don't wanna get a swollen head."

"Mom, you're the most humble woman I know!"

"No, Incendi! I think you hold that distinction!"

His eyes darted between person to person as they spoke, not wanting to say much himself. Honestly, I'd like to be in that kinda situation. No, no, not Lucas's whole situation. I don't think anyone would wanna have his life. I mean, just being silent at the dinner table. My family is the kind of family where everyone speaks all the time during meals. I do enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'd just like some quiet. Wait, if I enjoy it, then...GAH, forget it.

The dinner went smoothly for the most part. I did see there were a few moments where Lucas came close to crying, but he held it in.

"So, sis? How's work goin' for ya?"

"Oh, y'know, bro. The Grannies are the same as ever." Have I mentioned how Incendi calls the old women who run the Pastime Paradise 'the Grannies?' Y'know, I don't care! I'll say it again! Oh, oh, sorry, that was rude. "Always on my case about how the ice cream should be made. 'More cream!' 'Too much milk!' 'Not enough chocolate!'"

"So, they're like the Pigmasks?"

A silence.

"What do you mean, Luke?"

"Like, mean and bossy and not giving anything meaningful in return."

"No, no, Lucas, you got it wrong! The Grannies aren't mean! They just take their ice cream seriously, and want it to be the best it can be! And they do give me stuff in return. They give me money!"

"Oh. Um, OK then." He said silently, looking down for a bit before returning to his angel hair. By the look on his face, I could tell he still didn't have much respect for the concept of money. Sometimes I think he'll never really accept it. Too many bad memories.

Soon enough, our dinner was done, and the sun was down. We said goodbye to Incendi, and she drove back home. I got into the shower for a short while, as I knew Lucas would want some warm water. When he was done in the bathroom after me, the fan wasn't on and the mirror was completely fogged up. I put the pieces together mentally and realized he probably took a hot bath. Probably recreating the experience of a hot spring.

oOoOoOoOo

Soon enough, the day was truly wound down, and bed was upon us (not literally. that would be uncomfortable for everyone). Lucas brushed his teeth, Mom having gotten a spare toothbrush from the closet, and he always looked away from the mirror as he cleaned his teeth. I'm sure I can think of why, but I can't put my finger on it just now.

Since I wanted to make him feel truly welcome, I decided to let him sleep in my bed, and I would take the guest room, at least for that night. But...it seemed that Lucas couldn't sleep, as he called me to him a while after he 'went to bed.'

"What's wrong Lucas?" I said.

"Um...well...uh..."

"Come on, you can tell me, can'cha?"

"Well...can you sing to me?"

"What?" I said, a bit confused. Lucas blushed, a bit embarrassed. "No no!" i said, waving my hands. "It's fine, but, why?"

"Sigghhh, I don't know. I just...I remember back when Mom would sing Claus and I to sleep, and even after..." he stayed silent, on the brink of tears. I run my hands through his hair quiff to help him calm down. "...all that, Dad would sometimes sing me to sleep, when he wasn't away. He wasn't a great singer, Mom was much better, but his emotion made up for it." That just made me wonder what their singing voices sounded like. How much I know about Lucas and yet so little. "I still remember this one song Mom always sang to us. She never could remember the full thing though."

"What? What do you mean by that?" I put my hand on his. (no, not in that way. that's just weird.)

"Well, she said that her parents used to sing it to her when she was a kid, and as she got older, the melody always stayed with her but the lyrics faded away. When she sang it to us, she only sang the first few words and hummed the rest, but it was so beautiful that it always helped us sleep. It went something like, _Take a melody, da da da da daaa..._ "

I interrupted him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. His mother used to sing the Eight Melodies to him.

"Eight Melodies? But, it's only one song?"

"Well, in the first 'game' before yours," I said, putting air-quotes around the word game, as I didn't know if he truly understood the concept of him being from a game, or even if he new what a video game was. "There was this boy named Ninten who went around the world collecting the eight pieces of this song: The Eight Melodies. It seems that song lasted throughout the ages, and your mom learned it. I know how the song goes, so would you like me to sing it to you?" My voice kinda warbled near the end, as even though I like music a whole heckin' lot, I'm not all too confident in my own singing ability. To my surprise, he nodded. "Ok, Lucas. Here goes. AHEM!"

 _Take a melody..._

 _Simple as can be..._

 _Give it some words and..._

 _Sweet harmony..._

 _Raise your voices_

 _All day long now, love grows strong now_

 _Sing a melody of_

 _Love, oh love._

I sang as best I could, and Lucas seemed to like it. I repeated the verse, and Lucas seemed to pick up quickly, singing along with me. That moment right there, of me singing with Lucas, helping him sleep, even with the rather stupefying night that happened soon after, will always be a memory I cherish.

Soon enough, Lucas was yawning, his eyes grew heavy, and before long, he fell asleep, snoring softly. I got up, and went to the door, but hesitated, and looked back at him. In the back of my head, I had this weird feeling that if I looked away, God would realize He made a woopsie and send Lucas back to his own world. I couldn't take my eyes off him. I am kinda paranoid, I know.

I saw him stir, his eyes moving under his lids showing to me he was dreaming, but the amount of stirring showed me that it wasn't a pleasent dream.

 _"No! No, why!"_

He started talking in his sleep. I stepped a bit closer to hear him better.

 _"Don't leave me! Why...why didn't I save you? Ah! Ah, no!"_

I saw sparkles of PSI energy surround him. I didn't think to step back, even though I really should have.

 _"Stay...away! You...ruined...everything!! PK...Flash!_ "

...oh crap, I thought, as the large ball of energy that had been growing in front of him exploded, blinding me and sending me flying back into the wall, hitting the lightswitch with my skull before falling to the floor. I tried to get up, but darkness overtook me, and I fell asleep. That 'dream', or more appropriately, 'message', I had that night is a moment I'll never forget.

oOoOoOoOo

 **Cliffhanger!! Woohoo, 'nother chapter done! Sorry this chapter took so long. I can't peomise that the next chapter won't also take forever, but sometimes these things take a while. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Without you none of this would be possible. Follow, Favorite, and Review for more chapters to come! Thanks again, and God bless!**

 **-garrett**


End file.
